Players in For a Shootout When the Merit Poker Western Series $3,300 Main Event Kicks Off at Noon
The location may be a seaside island paradise instead of a dusty saloon, but like the cowboys and robbers of the old American West, players are in for a duel when the Merit Poker Western Series $3,300 Main Event begins at noon local time.
Over the next six days, players will descend on the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus and try to replicate the feat of a homegrown hero. In last year’s event, Cyprus’ own Orthodoxos Orthodoxou, who admitted he had only played a handful of live poker tournaments before, emerged on top of a 757 player field to win the Main Event and capture the $372,800 top prize. That final table also included the likes of Aleksandr Chernikov, Ara Melkisetian, Eduard Barsegian, Justus Held, and Dominik Panka.
2023 Merit Poker Western Series Final Table results
| Place | Player | Earnings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orthodoxos Orthodoxou | $372,800 |
| 2 | Aleksandr Chernikov | $274,500 |
| 3 | Ernestas Degtiariovas | $168,400 |
| 4 | Ara Melkisetian | $124,600 |
| 5 | Eduard Barsegian | $93,300 |
| 6 | Justus Held | $75,400 |
| 7 | Serge Matta | $62,400 |
| 8 | Dominik Panka | $49,600 |
| 9 | Vladislav Doroshkov | $37,300 |
The journey toward becoming a Merit Poker champion like Orthodoxou begins today with Day 1a, the first of four starting flights. Players begin with a 100,000 starting stack and will play nine 60-minute levels for each of the first two opening flights. Day 1c features 40-minute levels, while there is also a turbo Day 1d flight with 25-minute levels that begins at 7 p.m. on January 22. The surviving players from the four starting flights then combine for Day 2 at noon on January 23.
Late registration is open until the end of Level 14 on Day 2. With unlimited reentries available, the field should far surpass the $1,500,000 guarantee and create a massive prize pool.
This is the event that has brought hundreds of poker players here to North Cyprus with a dream of capturing the title, and it all kicks off today. Follow along as PokerNews provides all the live updates throughout the tournament.